Come Back To Me
by ChimeraStorm
Summary: A Cullen x Trevelyan one shot. Just a little piece of fluff for the new DA: Fluffy Friday tag on Tumblr.


**COME BACK TO ME**  
>A Dragon Age One Shot<p>

Cullen x Trevelyan

I do not own Dragon Age or its characters!  
>I'm just playing with them for a bit – I'll put them back, mostly unharmed.<br>*** *** ***

"Though all before me is shadow, yet shall the Maker be my guide. I shall not be left to wander the…"

Cullen's voice cut off mid-sentence as he heard the door to the small chapel open and soft footsteps entering the room.

"Olivia," his voice was low, still reverent-sounding from his prayer.  
>"How did you know it was me?" Trevelyan smiled at him as she kneeled next to him, setting down an incense censer on the floor at Andraste's stone feet.<br>"I always do," his hand reached for hers, clasping her fingers gently before lifting her hand and pressing a kiss to each knuckle; "your scent gives you away to me every time."

She hummed happily, settling closer to him and leaning her head against his shoulder.

"Who were you praying for?" She asked quietly.  
>"Everyone we have lost to this war," he replied, "I suppose I was praying for myself a little as well - for strength, for resolve; to not be selfish."<br>"Selfish?"

Cullen stood with a sigh, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck in the awkward gesture that Olivia had found endearing from the moment they first met.  
>She stood, standing near him; watching him struggle with what he wanted to say versus what he felt he should say. Ever the Commander, even in their private moments together he still tried keeping that thread of Templar control; that tight rein on his emotions and actions.<br>Olivia hesitated and then moved closer; wrapping her slender fingers around one of his wrists and bringing him back from his thoughts.

"Selfish because I should be focusing on not losing our armies, I should be thinking of the Inquisition first and foremost no matter what but all I can think about is you and how much you mean to me – how much I don't want to lose you. Not now."  
>"Cullen," Olivia whispered his name, her breath hitching slightly, "you worry too much. I'll be fine. You gave me my good luck, remember. And you gave me something much better than that, too."<p>

Cullen looked down at her hand clasped tightly around the silver coin he had given her. She had turned it into a pendant; hung on a black leather cord around her neck that she wore constantly. His eyes met hers and he cupped her cheek in his hand, thumb gently tracing her full lips.

"What do you mean 'something much better', Liv?"  
>"You gave me a reason to win," she breathed; forest green eyes shimmering in the candlelight.<p>

For a moment, he felt suspended in time as the enormity of her words sunk into his mind. He closed the gap between them and tipped her chin up, capturing her lips in a searing kiss that he poured everything into – all his fears, how afraid he was at the mere thought of losing her. When they parted she was flushed and unsteady on her feet.

"I hate this, you know," she murmured, "I'm terrified I'll fail, that I won't be able to bring Corypheus down; that we'll just all be plunged into that dark version of the world I saw at Redcliffe."

She pulled away, wrapping her arms around herself to suppress the shiver that worked down her spine, looking up at the stone statue of Andraste as though she had the answers hidden amongst her candles and offerings.

"Cullen, what if I can't do this? What if I _don't_ do this? What if…" She choked back a sob that was threatening to claw its way out of her throat.  
>"Oh," Cullen turned her to face him; brushing away a tear that had tracked across her cheek, "oh Maker, <em>Olivia<em>."

He tugged her into his arms; holding her as tightly as he dared, feeling her breath soft and warm against his skin as he pressed tiny tender kisses against her neck and shoulder.

"I refuse to believe that…" he broke off, trying to dislodge the words that were sticking in his throat; "please, Liv, you _have_ to come back to me. I can't lose you, I **won't** lose you. I love you far too much for that to happen."

Her arms tightened around him, her breath shaky, "I love you, too."

They stayed like that, wrapped up in each other until the candles had burned out and the incense was naught but ash in the censer and only then did they leave; his arm tight around her shoulders and hers about his waist as he led her to her quarters.

That night, Cullen mapped out her body with gentle hands and tender kisses, holding her reverently and tightly as though he were drowning and she were the breath that would keep him alive.  
>She responded in kind, tracking what felt like fire on his skin where she touched him; committing every freckle and every scar to memory like a protective charm she can carry close to her heart.<p>

Afterwards, they curled around each other, words unsaid hanging heavy between them as he pulled her close to him; her head resting on his chest, his heartbeat a lullaby that soothed her frayed nerves and as she slipped into uneasy rest his voice drifted to her.

"_Please_, Maker. Please let her come back to me."


End file.
